Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Stock Rating Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies upgraded Avantor from “underperform” to “hold” but set a $13 price target, implying roughly 10% downside from the stock’s $14.45 price. Analysts overall maintain a consensus “hold” rating with a $10.94 target.
• Avantor’s latest quarter exceeded expectations, with adjusted EPS of $0.21 versus $0.19 estimated and revenue of $1.69 billion versus $1.61 billion expected. The company raised its fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $0.80–$0.83.
• Despite the earnings beat, revenue increased only 0.5% year over year and GAAP diluted EPS fell to $0.06 from $0.24 a year earlier. Two directors recently bought shares, while institutional investors own approximately 95% of the stock.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday. The brokerage presently has a $13.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price target indicates a potential downside of 10.03% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Avantor in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $9.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group set a $8.00 price objective on Avantor in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wolfe Research cut Avantor to an "underperform" rating and set a $7.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Avantor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Avantor from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avantor presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.94.

Avantor Price Performance

AVTR traded up $2.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $14.45. 34,976,952 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,763,493. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 0.94. Avantor has a one year low of $7.26 and a one year high of $15.93.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Avantor had a positive return on equity of 9.95% and a negative net margin of 8.42%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. Avantor has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.830 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Avantor will post 0.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Simon Dingemans acquired 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.14 per share, for a total transaction of $203,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $203,500. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory T. Lucier bought 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.32 per share, for a total transaction of $83,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 60,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $499,200. This trade represents a 20.00% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avantor

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVTR. Private Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Avantor by 50.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,456,859 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,156,000 after acquiring an additional 823,572 shares during the last quarter. Brickwood Asset Management LLP boosted its position in Avantor by 6,891.9% during the fourth quarter. Brickwood Asset Management LLP now owns 3,184,043 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,489,000 after purchasing an additional 3,138,504 shares during the last quarter. Agman Capital LLC acquired a new position in Avantor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,915,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Avantor by 209.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 401,969 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,607,000 after purchasing an additional 272,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thornburg Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Avantor by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 576,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,612,000 after purchasing an additional 131,186 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Avantor News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Avantor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Avantor exceeded second-quarter estimates. Adjusted earnings were $0.21 per share, above the $0.19 consensus estimate, while revenue of $1.692 billion surpassed expectations of $1.61 billion. Avantor Beats Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Full-year guidance was raised. Avantor now expects fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS of $0.80 to $0.83, above the $0.79 analyst consensus, providing a key catalyst for the stock. Avantor Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Cash generation remained solid. Avantor reported $178.2 million of operating cash flow and $142.8 million of free cash flow, while adjusted EBITDA reached $254.3 million. Management also increased its full-year organic revenue growth outlook. Avantor Q2 2026 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue grew only 0.5% year over year, while organic revenue declined 0.4%. GAAP diluted EPS was $0.06, below the prior-year $0.24, although adjusted EPS improved the quarter’s headline performance.
• Negative Sentiment: The wider market faced pressure as oil prices surged amid renewed U.S.-Iran tensions and investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s policy decision. A risk-off environment could limit further gains in AVTR despite its strong earnings reaction. Oil Spikes and Nasdaq 100 Sinks Before Fed

About Avantor

Avantor, Inc NYSE: AVTR is a global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education & government, and advanced technologies & applied materials industries. The company delivers essential solutions that support research, development, production and safety applications. Its product portfolio spans from high-purity chemicals and reagents to biologics and cell culture media, as well as lab equipment, consumables and custom manufacturing services.

Avantor's offerings are organized across two primary segments.

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